I’ve put together a playlist featuring the bands in this video (and a few others I didn’t get the chance to include), so check it out if you’re looking to discover more music from this awesome scene! 🎶open.spotify.com/playlist/3QTb3cFnekFadgp20uki5W?si=53zIUllQS8a271mAFRTjTw
Thank you for introducing me into this whole new world of Korean punk man im really digging the Veggers, As a bassist ive been watching and learning from your videos for years now, keep it up man you have no idea how much it means to people like me🙌🙌🙌
Thanks Chris, it's much appreciated! It's nice to take a break from talking about the big bands everyone mentions, and give a bit more attention to the lesser known acts from around the world (or maybe just less well known to a Western audience). Thanks for watching!
Two-Five, Fail Fast, Smoking Goose, Idiots!, Fail Fast, 18 Fevers, Merry Hey Day, Punk on Fire, Sweet Gasoline, Row Brothers, Monkey Gang War, Beacon, ..Whatever That Means All really good and very active bands to check out in the Korean punk scene right now too.
@@rominasejashagen1 Club Victim, Club SHARP, FF, Babydoll, Infinity Club, Club Bbang, Strange Fruit, Il Mare, Freebird, channel 1969, AOR. There's a lot more but they aren't as active in booking shows, or lean more towards indie or softer music. A lot of good venues and bars, but the scene is still quite underground, and quite bad at advertising.
Everytime a 90's rock or punk band goes over seas, especially to Korea or Japan, man...they are like stars! Top tier stuff there and the fans LOVE their stuff. I saw Hoobastank selling out big venues in Asia vs if they did it in US, it'd be like..a high school gymnasium level. No hate, just saying, anything outside the US, they love this stuff and I wish it was more accepted here in the states..but then again, America usually just pushes for the next young hip cool thing, constantly!
Nice summary there, Sir, and Happy Christmas to you. One reason punk may have come late to South Korea was that from the early 60's to the late 80's the country was effectively a dictatorship where dissidents were arrested, tortured and 'disappeared'. Stuff like punk would have attracted the immediate and very unwelcome attention of the secret police.
Hey man this was really cool! I think i really cool idea could be you going through the most influential punk albums and talking about the writing, the tones, and production could be a fun idea!
I'm so happy you made this video. I'm an American who has lived in South Korea for a decade. Punk is my favorite style of music. Last year I went to a show that featured Smoking Goose, Rumkicks, and Far East Asian Tigers. Far East Asian Tigers totally brought down the house, you should check them out. If you like Neutral Milk Hotel, check out this band called Mukimukimanmansu (무키무키만만수).
That's awesome! It hurt me to leave Smoking Goose out of this one, but I didn't want to bog the video down with too many examples, haha. Thanks for the recommendations too 🙌
Also: I have seen Drinking Boys and Girls Choir twice (on tour with Japan's Otoboke Beaver) and they pretty much blew the roof off with their energy, as well as infectiously catchy melodies and harmonies I absolutely recommend them to anyone who might have a chance to see them who likes melodic punk
This is a high quality collection. Every single band makes me want to investigate further. Seems like the Koreans, while apparently late to the game, hit the ground running. Have you made a Spotify Playlist with all of these? Edit: I just realised you have. Thank you so much!
100%. I suppose that could be seen as a benefit of arriving a bit later to the scene than countries like England or Japan. And no problem, I'll try to keep it updated with new tracks from time to time!
Cool vid. Dang I like that riot kidz riff in stereotype. Too bad there’s like no tabs online for non-Western bands. Guess I have a task on my hands… I suck at transcribing lol but it’s good practice. Happy holidays sugarpill
Haha, it definitely is! I think learning to play by ear - or at least working things out using your ear - is easily the most invaluable skill you can have as a musician, producer, etc. Same to you!
Thanks this is cool! This also kinda explains why a: Korean bands in databases I came accross sounded harder to pinpoint in specific genres and b: Why I never heard anything about the korean punk scene.
side note: the veggers as well as green flame boyz and also taiwanese bands such as touming magazine took big influence from the japanese band GING NANG BOYZ....whcih is ana amazing punk band and can lead down to multiple interessting rabbit holes
Great summery, you mention a lot of important bands. I lived there for four years in the early 2000's. Suck Stuff were a fantastic band. I currently love Slant. Here is a link to some bands on youtube: ruclips.net/video/6QNwQqXAIhQ/видео.html&start_radio=1
I've seen half of these bands in Seoul and if that aint a dead scene, I need to go back to school cause I don't think I know what 'dead' means. They have no mainstream cultural influence, are worth $0/£0/₩0 and are basically doing it all for the internet. Either it is incomparable to punk in its hey-day or punk in the 70's was actually a tiny little circle of friends going out on a Saturday night.
Well "thriving" in the sense that there's still a load of active bands in the scene, putting out great music today. I'm not making a financial argument here, this isn't The Punk Rock MBA.
@18feversOfficial Yup if bands are playing and people go to underground shows and the records aren't lost media then it's not a dead punk scene. It's working exactly as intended. You're not there to make money you're there to play music, support your scene and share your voice. Seems like people have this obsession with popularity as to whether something is "dead". I get that when you're playing a multiplayer video game reliant on playercounts to function , but can you argue a punk scene is dead with so many bands in an active scene. Which btw still bring in new sounds without losing the genres old identity?
It did not originate in the US. It happened simultaneously in the US and UK, but the UK was far more properly punk. A lot of the so called prot punk "influence." Well, it's right there..."Proto punk." What that means is that they were named punk retroactively for marketing purposes. And that's fine. But punk emerged in the UK largely independently out of the aesthetics of pub rock. All the UK bands came out of the Pistols gigs. The Pistols formed between 1972 and 1975. Bassist Glen Matlock wrote almost all of the music. He said Malcolm McClaren came back from NY in 1973 and told him what was going on in NY, but there were no albums out, so he didn't hear the music. He said he thought it was cool that the same sort of rebellion was happening in NY. As for influences, he mentioned German bands like Kraftwerk and Can. He said the bass player of Can, Holger Czukay, “taught” him when to change the octave on the bass, specifically pointing to its influence on “Anarchy For The UK.” He said he went to a Faces concert and saw The Dolls open for them. He thought they were okay. He said he was more into: "all the bands from the 60s in England, the early Kinks and The Who and the Small Faces and The Yardbirds and the Stones" John Lydon was responsible for the whole attitude of the band, and the hair, and he liked Can and Iggy and The Modern Lovers. He thought it would be funny in Rock had a "villain." So he was playing his version of Olivier's Richard III. It was a decidedly British punk movement that took place simultaneously with the US version, which was much more arty and had a much bigger desire for hit records. The UK scene was influenced by pub rock which rejected radio play and hit records.New York was more arty and intricate and was a lot more like proto post punk.If you look at much of the attitude, dress and hair style of punk, it is decidedly more UK than NY.
Most of the proto punk bands came from America (The Stooges, MC5, etc) and then you get the New York Scene crop up first. They're very close in time, granted, but I think most people accept that it initially originated in the US. As for 'properly punk', that just sounds like a load of posturing to me.
@@SugarpillProd I'm a New Yorker, BTW, but the facts are the facts. Well, it's right there..."Proto punk." What that means is that they were named punk retroactively for marketing purposes. And that's fine. But punk emerged in the UK largely independently out of the aesthetics of pub rock. All the UK bands came out of the Pistols gigs. The Pistols formed between 1972 and 1975. Bassist Glen Matlock wrote almost all of the music. He said Malcolm McClaren came back from NY in 1973 and told him what was going on in NY, but there were no albums out, so he didn't hear the music. He said he thought it was cool that the same sort of rebellion was happening in NY. As for influences, he mentioned German bands like Kraftwerk and Can. He said the bass player of Can, Holger Czukay, “taught” him when to change the octave on the bass, specifically pointing to its influence on “Anarchy For The UK.” He said he went to a Faces concert and saw The Dolls open for them. He thought they were okay. He said he was more into: "all the bands from the 60s in England, the early Kinks and The Who and the Small Faces and The Yardbirds and the Stones" John Lydon was responsible for the whole attitude of the band, and the hair, and he liked Can and Iggy and The Modern Lovers. He thought it would be funny in Rock had a "villain." So he was playing his version of Olivier's Richard III. It was a decidedly British punk movement that took place simultaneously with the US version, which was much more arty and had a much bigger desire for hit records. The UK scene was influenced by pub rock which rejected radio play and hit records.New York was more arty and intricate and was a lot more like proto post punk.If you look at much of the attitude, dress and hair style of punk, it is decidedly more UK than NY.
@@thepagecollective I think you've outlined the exact problem with that line of thinking in your own argument. What you describe as being 'properly punk' is basically a fashion statement. Using the Sex Pistols as your general de facto band is quite funny, really, because that band is a walking contradiction of what 'punk' is - and I say this as a fan of the band. They were put together by a manager - so essentially what we'd think of as a boyband today - where the emphasis was far more on the look and image of the band, as opposed to the music. They literally had a member who was purely there for his 'punk' aesthetic and nothing else. Not to mention that your history is wrong about everything coming from the Sex Pistols, when The Damned already pre-date them and were, in fact, the first UK punk band to release a record, so that's just leaving out basic history. And also, 'proto post-punk'? That literally makes no sense. You can't be both proto and post at the same time - that's an oxymoron. I agree with the NY scene being more 'arty' and the UK scene being, I guess, more raw/meat-and-potatoes-esque, but that's much more to do with class and the Thatcher era, which by definition isn't going to seep into American punk. So, if that's your definition of 'properly punk', then OK, cool, it's certainly a take, though I'd argue a pretty bad one at best.
@@SugarpillProd "They were put together by a manager" Well, no. This is a myth derived from one source, "The Great Rock n Roll Swindle" written by Malcolm McClaren where he lied and said he created the band. He stole all the rights to the music based on this claim and Lydon spent over a decade in court where the court stripped Malcolm of all rights. The band was started by Wally Nightingale in 1972. With Steve Jone and Paul Cook. Lydon joined in 1975. Malcolm's shop was a hangout, where John walked in with green hair chopped off. He did it after his father told him to get a haircut. He had safety pins in his clothes because he was poor. Steve Jones came into the shop to steal things and pester Malcolm to give them money for a rehearsal studio. Malcolm forked over, finally, just to shut him up. Matlock, who wrote all the music worked at the shop and joined the band. John joined later and brought his Richard III impression into the mix. "Sub Mission" was written as a joke to tell Malcolm to get bent when Malcolm wanted him to write about BDSM. The Damned and the Clash were playing in various pub rock outfits and even did jazz. Then they saw the Pistols and formed in 76. The Damned were an opening act for the Pistols, and got out the first punk single because they were not controversial. The Pistols had been dropped from two record companies because they were so controversial. This is documented in "EMI." This is all well-documented in England's Dreaming by Jon Savage. Then they saw the Pistols play and changed their whole style to fit in with punk. The NY scene had the artiness that would later find influence in post punk.
That's not punk. Its punk-influenced pop, and pop sucks. Punk was a reaction to disenfranchisement, alienation, ostracism, and apathy. Punk emerged from working class populations in the late seventies when unemployment rates were high and the music biz gate-kept artists. It was an entirely DIY ethos for a generation of kids who were voiceless. The hyper commercialized sham its turned into since the labels finally realized they could make money from it is both nauseating, and the total antithesis of what and why it was. Keep it.
'Hyper-commercialized sham'? If you knew even the slightest bit about the Korean punk scene, you'd understand how ridiculous that statement is. If all you have to offer are fake platitudes, please leave, because no one benefits from hearing this boomer punk BS.
I’ve put together a playlist featuring the bands in this video (and a few others I didn’t get the chance to include), so check it out if you’re looking to discover more music from this awesome scene!
🎶open.spotify.com/playlist/3QTb3cFnekFadgp20uki5W?si=53zIUllQS8a271mAFRTjTw
so if a korean band made pop punk it should be called k-pop punk?
Still just pop punk because no one in the Korean punk scene calls it K-Punk.
It'd be like if we called The Clash "E-Punk" lol.
Bisa jadi 😂
Yes, if they make rap, it's called krap 😂
Thank you for introducing me into this whole new world of Korean punk man im really digging the Veggers,
As a bassist ive been watching and learning from your videos for years now, keep it up man you have no idea how much it means to people like me🙌🙌🙌
That's really nice to hear! I'm glad you're discovering some new music from these videos 🥳
I really love the direction your channel has taken. Highlighting music that I would say vast majority of people haven't really heard or experienced
Thanks Chris, it's much appreciated! It's nice to take a break from talking about the big bands everyone mentions, and give a bit more attention to the lesser known acts from around the world (or maybe just less well known to a Western audience). Thanks for watching!
Two-Five, Fail Fast, Smoking Goose, Idiots!, Fail Fast, 18 Fevers, Merry Hey Day, Punk on Fire, Sweet Gasoline, Row Brothers, Monkey Gang War, Beacon, ..Whatever That Means
All really good and very active bands to check out in the Korean punk scene right now too.
Hi, do you have any suggestions about bars or venues too listening to this bands in Seoul? Thank you very much.
@@rominasejashagen1There’s a subreddit /koreanpunk that has show listings and venues
@@rominasejashagen1 Club Victim, Club SHARP, FF, Babydoll, Infinity Club, Club Bbang, Strange Fruit, Il Mare, Freebird, channel 1969, AOR.
There's a lot more but they aren't as active in booking shows, or lean more towards indie or softer music. A lot of good venues and bars, but the scene is still quite underground, and quite bad at advertising.
@@rominasejashagen1 go to the /koreanpunk subreddit
Slant & Drinking Boys and Girls Choir are phenomenal, DBGC's live show is great.
Totally! They both go unbelievably hard, haha.
Everytime a 90's rock or punk band goes over seas, especially to Korea or Japan, man...they are like stars! Top tier stuff there and the fans LOVE their stuff. I saw Hoobastank selling out big venues in Asia vs if they did it in US, it'd be like..a high school gymnasium level. No hate, just saying, anything outside the US, they love this stuff and I wish it was more accepted here in the states..but then again, America usually just pushes for the next young hip cool thing, constantly!
I think you should make an episode of Indonesian Punk. They kinda have the same style as J punk
That could be a fun one! I'll definitely be looking into doing more if people are interested 👍
Nice summary there, Sir, and Happy Christmas to you.
One reason punk may have come late to South Korea was that from the early 60's to the late 80's the country was effectively a dictatorship where dissidents were arrested, tortured and 'disappeared'. Stuff like punk would have attracted the immediate and very unwelcome attention of the secret police.
Thank you, and that's a great point!
In that kind of political climate, punk rockers are truly Punk Rock, like Dezerter in early 80’s Poland.
Hey man this was really cool! I think i really cool idea could be you going through the most influential punk albums and talking about the writing, the tones, and production could be a fun idea!
Thanks! I might look into doing videos on specific records in the future!
Dude i've been subs to your channel maybe for 2 or 3 month but i don't regret it just keep doing a good sh*t dude 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you, that means a lot ❤
I recommend Green Flame Boys, if you like pop punk style.
Many tracks on this video REALLY/ sound like something else from the 90s american punk scene. Like almost identical to some songs.
I'm so happy you made this video. I'm an American who has lived in South Korea for a decade. Punk is my favorite style of music.
Last year I went to a show that featured Smoking Goose, Rumkicks, and Far East Asian Tigers. Far East Asian Tigers totally brought down the house, you should check them out.
If you like Neutral Milk Hotel, check out this band called Mukimukimanmansu (무키무키만만수).
That's awesome! It hurt me to leave Smoking Goose out of this one, but I didn't want to bog the video down with too many examples, haha. Thanks for the recommendations too 🙌
@@SugarpillProd Sorry one more to check out, Vanillare. They're more post-punk / goth / k-pop. It's an odd mix but they totally pull it off.
Also: I have seen Drinking Boys and Girls Choir twice (on tour with Japan's Otoboke Beaver) and they pretty much blew the roof off with their energy, as well as infectiously catchy melodies and harmonies
I absolutely recommend them to anyone who might have a chance to see them who likes melodic punk
Sounds like a killer line-up!
Love these videos! I never looked into the Korean scene. I love hearing about the nuances.
Thanks! I think South Korean's scene is easily one of the most exciting out there 🙌
Asian ska or punk sounds like Dragon Ball and Songoku to me. Like sunny days when life was easy! Great work and keep up the awesome work! ❤
Thanks Alex, much appreciated!
great video. Dont know korean scene at all and theres deffo some bands i need to check out here.
Thanks! It's by far one of my favourite scenes, and there's a huge amount of awesome bands to discover. Hope you find some new ones to listen to!
This is a high quality collection. Every single band makes me want to investigate further. Seems like the Koreans, while apparently late to the game, hit the ground running.
Have you made a Spotify Playlist with all of these? Edit: I just realised you have. Thank you so much!
100%. I suppose that could be seen as a benefit of arriving a bit later to the scene than countries like England or Japan. And no problem, I'll try to keep it updated with new tracks from time to time!
dont forget about the geeks a korean hardcore band they were on think fast records an american label
Cool vid. Dang I like that riot kidz riff in stereotype. Too bad there’s like no tabs online for non-Western bands. Guess I have a task on my hands… I suck at transcribing lol but it’s good practice. Happy holidays sugarpill
Haha, it definitely is! I think learning to play by ear - or at least working things out using your ear - is easily the most invaluable skill you can have as a musician, producer, etc.
Same to you!
This is like a less meme-ified Coolea. I like this stuff, keep this going
Thanks! Not super familiar with Coolea, but I guess I can imagine from the 'meme-y' description, haha.
Thanks this is cool! This also kinda explains why a: Korean bands in databases I came accross sounded harder to pinpoint in specific genres and b: Why I never heard anything about the korean punk scene.
Thank you! It’s definitely a super underrated scene. I hope you discover some new bands to enjoy!
side note: the veggers as well as green flame boyz and also taiwanese bands such as touming magazine took big influence from the japanese band GING NANG BOYZ....whcih is ana amazing punk band and can lead down to multiple interessting rabbit holes
Yeah GING NANG BOYZ are great! I'll likely do something on them, or at least including them at some point in the future.
Clicked on this expecting something different and found out it was the punk scene I'm more familiar with than any other.
I suppose it's largely going to depend where you come from, as to how "different" it is to you 🤣
If you love hardcore like Youth of Today, Judge, or Project X, The Geeks are the ones to check out. The best HC to come out of Korea
I haven't heard any of this genre. Even more punk than other countries.
There's so many good bands from there. Hopefully you find a few ones you like!
Please try listening to the album Kitsch Space by Patients. Amazing album.
Thanks, I'll check it out!
Do a video on New York dance punk
I'll likely be doing something on Dance Punk in the future!
Heard about ginger root.. join up with an asset reclaim.. ask smashing-pumpkins justine art..
Oldnew × Newold intergrations.
Great summery, you mention a lot of important bands. I lived there for four years in the early 2000's. Suck Stuff were a fantastic band. I currently love Slant.
Here is a link to some bands on youtube: ruclips.net/video/6QNwQqXAIhQ/видео.html&start_radio=1
Thanks! Slant are SO good!
Shorty cat :)
I've seen half of these bands in Seoul and if that aint a dead scene, I need to go back to school cause I don't think I know what 'dead' means.
They have no mainstream cultural influence, are worth $0/£0/₩0 and are basically doing it all for the internet. Either it is incomparable to punk in its hey-day or punk in the 70's was actually a tiny little circle of friends going out on a Saturday night.
Well "thriving" in the sense that there's still a load of active bands in the scene, putting out great music today. I'm not making a financial argument here, this isn't The Punk Rock MBA.
@@ModernConversations Nobody starts a punk band to make money.
@@18feversOfficial Exactly 💀
@@SugarpillProd lmaao nice dig at Finn
@18feversOfficial Yup if bands are playing and people go to underground shows and the records aren't lost media then it's not a dead punk scene. It's working exactly as intended. You're not there to make money you're there to play music, support your scene and share your voice.
Seems like people have this obsession with popularity as to whether something is "dead". I get that when you're playing a multiplayer video game reliant on playercounts to function , but can you argue a punk scene is dead with so many bands in an active scene. Which btw still bring in new sounds without losing the genres old identity?
It did not originate in the US. It happened simultaneously in the US and UK, but the UK was far more properly punk. A lot of the so called prot punk "influence." Well, it's right there..."Proto punk." What that means is that they were named punk retroactively for marketing purposes. And that's fine. But punk emerged in the UK largely independently out of the aesthetics of pub rock. All the UK bands came out of the Pistols gigs. The Pistols formed between 1972 and 1975. Bassist Glen Matlock wrote almost all of the music. He said Malcolm McClaren came back from NY in 1973 and told him what was going on in NY, but there were no albums out, so he didn't hear the music. He said he thought it was cool that the same sort of rebellion was happening in NY. As for influences, he mentioned German bands like Kraftwerk and Can. He said the bass player of Can, Holger Czukay, “taught” him when to change the octave on the bass, specifically pointing to its influence on “Anarchy For The UK.” He said he went to a Faces concert and saw The Dolls open for them. He thought they were okay. He said he was more into: "all the bands from the 60s in England, the early Kinks and The Who and the Small Faces and The Yardbirds and the Stones" John Lydon was responsible for the whole attitude of the band, and the hair, and he liked Can and Iggy and The Modern Lovers. He thought it would be funny in Rock had a "villain." So he was playing his version of Olivier's Richard III. It was a decidedly British punk movement that took place simultaneously with the US version, which was much more arty and had a much bigger desire for hit records. The UK scene was influenced by pub rock which rejected radio play and hit records.New York was more arty and intricate and was a lot more like proto post punk.If you look at much of the attitude, dress and hair style of punk, it is decidedly more UK than NY.
Most of the proto punk bands came from America (The Stooges, MC5, etc) and then you get the New York Scene crop up first. They're very close in time, granted, but I think most people accept that it initially originated in the US.
As for 'properly punk', that just sounds like a load of posturing to me.
@@SugarpillProd I'm a New Yorker, BTW, but the facts are the facts. Well, it's right there..."Proto punk." What that means is that they were named punk retroactively for marketing purposes. And that's fine. But punk emerged in the UK largely independently out of the aesthetics of pub rock. All the UK bands came out of the Pistols gigs. The Pistols formed between 1972 and 1975. Bassist Glen Matlock wrote almost all of the music. He said Malcolm McClaren came back from NY in 1973 and told him what was going on in NY, but there were no albums out, so he didn't hear the music. He said he thought it was cool that the same sort of rebellion was happening in NY. As for influences, he mentioned German bands like Kraftwerk and Can. He said the bass player of Can, Holger Czukay, “taught” him when to change the octave on the bass, specifically pointing to its influence on “Anarchy For The UK.” He said he went to a Faces concert and saw The Dolls open for them. He thought they were okay. He said he was more into: "all the bands from the 60s in England, the early Kinks and The Who and the Small Faces and The Yardbirds and the Stones" John Lydon was responsible for the whole attitude of the band, and the hair, and he liked Can and Iggy and The Modern Lovers. He thought it would be funny in Rock had a "villain." So he was playing his version of Olivier's Richard III. It was a decidedly British punk movement that took place simultaneously with the US version, which was much more arty and had a much bigger desire for hit records. The UK scene was influenced by pub rock which rejected radio play and hit records.New York was more arty and intricate and was a lot more like proto post punk.If you look at much of the attitude, dress and hair style of punk, it is decidedly more UK than NY.
@@SugarpillProd It keeps dumping my reply so I put it in the edit above.
@@thepagecollective I think you've outlined the exact problem with that line of thinking in your own argument. What you describe as being 'properly punk' is basically a fashion statement. Using the Sex Pistols as your general de facto band is quite funny, really, because that band is a walking contradiction of what 'punk' is - and I say this as a fan of the band. They were put together by a manager - so essentially what we'd think of as a boyband today - where the emphasis was far more on the look and image of the band, as opposed to the music. They literally had a member who was purely there for his 'punk' aesthetic and nothing else. Not to mention that your history is wrong about everything coming from the Sex Pistols, when The Damned already pre-date them and were, in fact, the first UK punk band to release a record, so that's just leaving out basic history.
And also, 'proto post-punk'? That literally makes no sense. You can't be both proto and post at the same time - that's an oxymoron. I agree with the NY scene being more 'arty' and the UK scene being, I guess, more raw/meat-and-potatoes-esque, but that's much more to do with class and the Thatcher era, which by definition isn't going to seep into American punk.
So, if that's your definition of 'properly punk', then OK, cool, it's certainly a take, though I'd argue a pretty bad one at best.
@@SugarpillProd "They were put together by a manager" Well, no. This is a myth derived from one source, "The Great Rock n Roll Swindle" written by Malcolm McClaren where he lied and said he created the band. He stole all the rights to the music based on this claim and Lydon spent over a decade in court where the court stripped Malcolm of all rights. The band was started by Wally Nightingale in 1972. With Steve Jone and Paul Cook. Lydon joined in 1975. Malcolm's shop was a hangout, where John walked in with green hair chopped off. He did it after his father told him to get a haircut. He had safety pins in his clothes because he was poor. Steve Jones came into the shop to steal things and pester Malcolm to give them money for a rehearsal studio. Malcolm forked over, finally, just to shut him up. Matlock, who wrote all the music worked at the shop and joined the band. John joined later and brought his Richard III impression into the mix. "Sub Mission" was written as a joke to tell Malcolm to get bent when Malcolm wanted him to write about BDSM. The Damned and the Clash were playing in various pub rock outfits and even did jazz. Then they saw the Pistols and formed in 76. The Damned were an opening act for the Pistols, and got out the first punk single because they were not controversial. The Pistols had been dropped from two record companies because they were so controversial. This is documented in "EMI." This is all well-documented in England's Dreaming by Jon Savage. Then they saw the Pistols play and changed their whole style to fit in with punk. The NY scene had the artiness that would later find influence in post punk.
That's not punk. Its punk-influenced pop, and pop sucks. Punk was a reaction to disenfranchisement, alienation, ostracism, and apathy. Punk emerged from working class populations in the late seventies when unemployment rates were high and the music biz gate-kept artists. It was an entirely DIY ethos for a generation of kids who were voiceless. The hyper commercialized sham its turned into since the labels finally realized they could make money from it is both nauseating, and the total antithesis of what and why it was. Keep it.
Ohhh the punk sommeliers have arrived!
'Hyper-commercialized sham'? If you knew even the slightest bit about the Korean punk scene, you'd understand how ridiculous that statement is. If all you have to offer are fake platitudes, please leave, because no one benefits from hearing this boomer punk BS.